How might exemplary practice be represented by teachers' narratives? How might such representations be analyzed? How might theory and practice be related? "Analyzing Exemplary Science Teaching" is a text that seeks to combine educational theory and practice through analysis of a series of teachers' descriptions of "exemplary"…

In this study, the development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) was explored within a group of 12 preservice teachers of chemistry (all M.Sc.) during their 1-year post-graduate teacher education program. The topic in this study concerned a central issue in science teaching, viz., the use of scientific models and modeling activities. A…

This report describes a curriculum reform project conducted at Spokane Community College (Washington), which has extensive vocational programs and a high percentage of non-traditional students. The purpose of the project was to develop and test a series of student Learning Activity Packets (LAPs), which introduce fundamental chemistry concepts by…

Chemists have been very active in utilizing the World Wide Web as an information distribution medium and much interesting scientific chemical information is already offered on it. Various classical text-based search engines have made locating information on the Web easier. However, keyword-based searches are often insufficient for chemists…

The is the first report from a study of a structured active learning approach to an analytical chemistry course. The purpose of the study is to assess the longitudinal outcomes of this approach and to provide feedback to curriculum developers about the effects of the changes being made in the chemistry curriculum. The data, collected from a cohort…

This paper reports on a unique assessment of a structured active learning approach to a freshman chemistry course. Faculty members (N=25) from 11 departments outside the chemistry department served as assessors interviewing approximately 200 students from the experimental and a comparison version of the course. The experimental section of the…

A study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) in Illinois to follow former students who had taken one of nine different chemistry courses at WRHC between 1989 and 1993, and to survey area employers who were thought to hire employees with a chemistry background. Surveys were mailed to 853 students and 60 area employers. Study…

This CD-ROM is designed to spark the interest of students with science activities and demonstrations similar to "Jake's Attic" and "Mr. Wizard." This first volume of the "Whelmers" collection engages students in science process thinking. The activities are meant to "whelm" the students, not overwhelm them.…

This document provides information on the most commonly asked science safety questions by science teachers primarily at the secondary school level. Topics include the legal responsibilities of a science teacher, a general safety checklist, proper labeling and storing of chemicals, purchasing of new chemicals and disposing of old chemicals, a…

All matter possesses certain properties--mass, weight, volume and density. But what happens to these properties when the matter changes form? How does wood become ash when it burns? And how does ice cream change when it melts? Students will learn the difference between chemical and physical changes in this excellent introduction to the changes of…

This study investigated how students develop their understanding of chemical representations with the aid of a visualizing tool, eChem, that allows them to build molecular models and simultaneously view multiple representations. Multiple sources of data were collected with the participation of high school students (n=71) over a six-week period.…

This CD-ROM allows students to discover the key factors and major dates in the development of the science of chemistry. It includes 93 scientific concepts, 20 minutes of narration with animation, 14 interactive activities, an illustrated periodic table, a complete Portable Document Format (PDF) user guide, a dictionary explaining over 40 terms, a…

This study investigated United Arab Emirates (UAE) high school students' views about the epistemology of science. About 1,600 high school science students, from the seven Emirates that constitute the UAE, participated in the study during the 1997-98 school year. Students responded to a questionnaire composed of 15 items selected mainly from the…

Summarizes some activities concerning chemistry education, including a brief report of the 1973 conference on teaching of pre-university courses, a statement about using plastics containers, a survey of mathematical skills in chemistry, discussions about the Nuffield Foundation 27th Report and the report "Science for the 13-16 Age Group." (CC)

Describes a low cost hydrometer which can be assembled by students using stock laboratory items with a total retail cost of 17 cents. Includes list of required materials (with supplies) and experimental results on the instrument's accuracy. (JM)